‘I’m not really. I’m actually a nightmare. You should talk to Mum. Well, actually, you shouldn’t.’ She was babbling, nervous as hell, caught in his gaze.

‘Well, if you’re a nightmare, you’re the fun sort,’ he said.

Taisie shivered happily. He didn’t say anything else and she couldn’t think of anything to say. She waited, feeling like an idiot, thinking she should go, calculating where Izzy would be, but wanting a few more seconds of this agony. Then he made an odd groaning sound, as if it was a huge effort to keep his hands off her, and that clinched it. With more confidence than she felt, she touched his cheek and he grabbed her hand and pressed his lips into her palm. Oh my God, she thought, the feelings that pulsed through her … she couldn’t describe, but her knees practically buckled.

‘We can’t stay here,’ he said. ‘We’ll be found.’

He stuck his head into the hall, checked there was no one around, then propelled her across the parquet floor and into Angus’s study, his hand on the small of her back.

‘No one would dare come in here,’ he said, closing the door.

She stood, frozen, her heart thumping, unsure what exactly was going on, whether she wanted it, or whether she should get away.

‘Anastasia,’ he murmured.

The way he said her full name sent shudders through her. He pulled her in to him and kissed her on the lips. First softly, then harder, his tongue pushing between her teeth. When his hand crept under her top, touching the underside of her breast, she thrust him away, shaking her head, suddenly shy.

‘What’s up, baby?’

‘I didn’t think you liked me.’

She bit her bottom lip, and he tipped her chin up with his finger.

‘You’re fishing for compliments. You know perfectly well that I haven’t been able to take my eyes off you.’

He bent to kiss her again, and she kissed him back, letting her tongue press tantalizingly against his before wriggling out of his clasp.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to go.’

She looked at the door, then back at him, imploringly. Izzy would be at the river by now, waiting. She wished she hadn’t let her go. She hadn’t thought it through, only dwelt on the glorious aftermath. What if Izzy got impatient and came back to the house? Their parents would want to know what she’d been doing outside all by herself. Izzy caught colds easily; Taisie would get the blame.

‘No, I’m the one who should be sorry, sweetheart.’ Tim held her against him and kissed the top of her head, murmuring, ‘God, you drive me crazy.’

She put her hands against his chest and pushed him away reluctantly. He smelled so lovely, she wanted to bury her nose in his shirt.